According to reports, Apple's next-generation iPhone - the iPhone 5 - which is likely to hit the markets in October, will apparently be a refreshed handset, which will have a leading edge over the competing smartphones, largely because of its use of a material called `liquidmetal.'

`Liquidmetal' - which Apple will reportedly use for the SIM ejector tool in the iPhone box - is not actually liquid, but an amalgamation of several metals, including titanium, copper, nickel, and zirconium.

Discovered at the California Institute of Technology in 1992, liquidmetal is an extremely tough and light material, which exhibits the smoothness of liquid or glass when touched.

With durability, lightness, smoothness, and scratch-resistance being some of the special proprieties of liquidmetal, the material has been used in several consumer electronics and gadgets. Apple has also been using liquidmetal in some of its products, ever since its $20 million purchase, in 2010, of worldwide exclusive rights to use the material in its devices --- the SIM card ejector tool which accompanies iPhone 4 and Phone 4S is made with liquidmetal technology, as has been a similar tool for iPads distributed in certain countries.

As such, Apple's reported use of liquidmetal for its forthcoming iPhone 5 implies that the company is evidently exploring uses of the liquidmetal technology beyond the SIM card ejector tool. The iPhone 5's liquidmetal case would mean that the handset will not only be more scratch-resistant than its earlier glass-back counterpart, but will also be less likely to shatter into pieces if users happen to drop it!